CAPA Summer Movie Series to highlight 25 films, including 'The Bodyguard,' 'Airplane!'

In some ways, the CAPA Summer Movie Series never really went away.

The classic film series in the Ohio Theatre continued during the pandemic, but the last two editions were unlike any other.

In September 2020, a 10-day series took place just as theaters were reopening for reduced-capacity audiences, while last July and August, a compressed, five-week series with digital screenings rather than hard-to-procure 35mm film prints helped keep classic film lovers satiated.

Now, the movie series is poised for a full comeback: Twenty-five feature films, plus two programs of cartoon shorts, will be shown over nine weeks, from June 16 through Aug. 14.

CAPA officials haven’t exactly had the past two years off, but it felt that way as they ramped up for the return of the full series.

“Coming out of COVID, it was like, ‘Oh, we’ll just do the movie series,’” said vice president of programming Rich Corsi. “(We) just forgot how hard that is.”

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For example, organizers are again tracking down 35mm prints for as many films as possible — a tough task as other film programs throughout the country resume, making some prints scarce. Films for which prints can’t be obtained will be shown digitally, Corsi said.

What movies can film fans expect at the Summer Movie Series?

All of the hard work is sure to please classic film fans, who will be treated to an eclectic lineup of movies from the 1920s through the 1990s.

Among the more recent films to be shown is the series opener on June 16, Mike Nichols’ 1996 comedy “The Birdcage,” starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a gay couple who resort to subterfuge to pacify their son’s future-in laws, a Republican politician and his equally conservative wife: Lane’s character, a drag queen, presents himself as Williams’ wife.

The film was chosen to coincide with Pride Month, Corsi said. (The Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival is set for June 17-18, and the Pride March for June 18.)

“There are so many incredible, incredible Pride activities going on that weekend,” he said. “We thought this would be really nice for folks getting into town and folks who live here.”

Also playing during the first weekend, on June 17-19, is Francis Ford Coppola’s Oscar-winning 1972 mafia masterpiece “The Godfather,” which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

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“We’ve shown it a few times and people love it,” Corsi said. “It’s almost like they come and live here for 3½ hours. . . It’s a rather long film!”

Classic films also to be shown

Other highlights run the gamut from fare made during Hollywood’s Golden Age — including the musical “My Fair Lady” (June 25-26), Frank Capra’s “It Happened One Night” (July 13-14) and John Ford’s “The Grapes of Wrath” (July 27-28) — to a spate of series premieres from more recent years.

The 1992 Kevin Costner-Whitney Houston romantic thriller “The Bodyguard” will be shown for the first time on July 20, as will the original 1989 “Batman” film, starring Michael Keaton, on Aug. 5-6.

One surprising film to never be included in the series is “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” showing July 8-9, which was difficult to screen until Disney acquired the 20th Century Fox film and television studio in 2019.

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Before the studio’s acquisition, Corsi said, the films in the “Star Wars” series were impossible to license for screenings.

As usual, the cinema of Alfred Hitchcock will be well-represented: the Master of Suspense’s 1946 thriller “Notorious,” starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, will screen on July 30-31 and his 1956 true-crime story “The Wrong Man,” starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles, Aug. 11-12.

Entering his 31st Summer Movie Series, organist Clark Wilson will play before, after and during the intermissions of a majority of screenings, and will accompany the entirety of this year’s silent film presentation, the Buster Keaton comedy “Our Hospitality,” on July 21-22.

“You want to keep the series light; you want to keep it fun,” Corsi said.

In fact, this year’s schedule places something of an emphasis on comedies generally, including the disaster film parody “Airplane!” (June 23-24); Peter Bogdanovich’s screwball comedy “What’s Up, Doc?,” starring Ryan O’Neal and Barbra Streisand, and, like “The Godfather,” celebrating its 50th anniversary this year (July 10); and Mel Brooks’ horror film sendup “Young Frankenstein” (July 23-24).

The presence of organist Wilson — along with the grand ambience of the Ohio Theatre itself — continues to make the Summer Movie Series a distinct filmgoing experience.

“Every year, people say, ‘How do you maintain a series like that? I can watch (movies) on Turner Classic Movies or whatever,’” Corsi said. “And as we tell everybody every year, once we get them through the door once, it’s a completely different experience.”

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At a glance

The CAPA Summer Movie Series runs from June 16 through Aug. 14 in the Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. Single tickets cost $6, or $5 for senior citizens and go on sale June 1. Ticket 10-packs, on sale now, can be bought for $40. Tickets can be purchased in-person, by calling 614-469-0939, or by visiting www.capa.com.

This year’s series includes the following films:

• June 16: “The Birdcage”

• June 17-19: “The Godfather”

• June 22: “In the Heat of the Night”

• June 23-24: “Airplane!”

• June 25: cartoon capers

• June 25-26: “My Fair Lady”

• June 29-30: “Wuthering Heights”

• July 6-7: “Sudden Fear”

• July 8-9: “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope”

• July 10: “What’s Up, Doc?”

• July 13-14: “It Happened One Night”

• July 15: “Fright Nite Friday with Fritz!” presentation of “Halloween”

• July 16-17: “Fiddler on the Roof”

• July 20: “The Bodyguard”

• July 21-22: silent film “Our Hospitality”

• July 23-24: “Young Frankenstein”

• July 27-28: “The Grapes of Wrath”

• July 29: comedy double feature of “My Little Chickadee” and “Who Done It?”

• July 30: cartoon capers

• July 30-31: “Notorious”

• Aug. 3-4: “The Roaring Twenties”

• Aug. 5-6: “Batman”

• Aug. 7: “The Goonies”

• Aug. 10: “The Adventures of Robin Hood”

• Aug. 11-12: “The Wrong Man”

• Aug. 13-14: “High Society”

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The CAPA Summer Movie Series runs June 16-Aug. 14 in the Ohio Theatre